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My ruby acting differently

I thought I would mention something I just noticed the last couple days with our ruby Isis. Isis will very seldom actually play with the other dogs; she'll run with them as a pack, chase the ball with them and so on, but seldom ever really play. Our 4 month old tri puppy Duece has been a real challenge for her, as he is ready to play with anyone.

However, my daughter is in town for a week and brought her chihuahua Pickles to stay with us. Well Isis and Pickles have been playing like crazy; I haven't seen Isis play like that since she was a puppy. So we have been trying to figure out what it is about that chihuahua that Isis likes so much. Isis is a big girl at about 19 pounds and Pickles is about 5 pounds. So far, the only thing we can think of is that they are close to the same color. Could Isis be "racist", God forbid Any ideas out there? Anyone else experience this type of thing?

Yes Bruce
She is trying to tell you something, since she is your only RUBY
I think you definetely need another RUBY.
Is she going to have a litter this year ?????
Maybe you could keep one of those puppies Bruce.
She is by far outnumbered at your house.
Sorry how many tri's do you have ???
I don't think I ever saw any b/t's in your group either.
_________________

Funny you mentioned that because the breeder we just picked our new Cavs up from yesterday was mentioning that her alike colored Cavs all seem more drawn to each other. Our new pup Nanook (although he looks far from a pup, lol) was the only black/tan in the home and he was the most standoffish. I wonder if there really is a coeralation....... Glad she found a friend. I agree. You need to add another ruby to the pack!!!!!!!

Cavaliers would not be able to distinguish much difference in colour amongst other cavaliers --as they cannot see shades of red at all and most of their eyesight is in the blue/green range. So a tricolour and a blenheim will look basically the same to a dog, probably just barely-different shades of dark grey spots on a white background, while wholecolours would look black or dark grey. Here's an explanation of why -- this is part of an interesting longer article:

Owners who want to better understand their canine companions must recognize that dogs
see the world from a different visual perspective. The differences begin with the structure of
the eye. "We have a good idea what canines see because we know the make-up of the
retina of a dog's eye," says Dr. Ralph Hamor, a veterinarian and specialist in ophthalmology
at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital.

The retina, which covers the back of the inside of the eyeball, contains cones and rods-two
types of light-sensitive cells. Cones provide color perception and detailed sight, while rods
detect motion and vision in dim light. Dogs, which have rod-dominated retinas, see better in
the dark than humans do and have motion-oriented vision. However, because they have
only about one-tenth the concentration of cones that humans have, dogs do not see colors
as humans do.

"I generally explain that dogs see like a color-blind human," says Dr. Hamor. "Many people
think that a person who is red/green color blind cannot see any color, but there are
variations of being color blind. Most people have vision that is trichromatic (three color
variations). People who are red/green color blind are dichromatic (two color variations).
Dogs can pick out two colors-blue-violet and yellow-and they can differentiate among
shades of gray." Dogs are unable to distinguish among green, yellow, orange, and red. They
also have difficulty differentiating greens and grays.

Dogs use other cues (such as smell, texture, brightness, and position) rather than rely on
color. Seeing-eye dogs, for example, may not distinguish whether a stoplight is green or
red; they look at the brightness and position of the light. This and the flow and noise of
traffic will tell the dog that it is the right time to cross the street.

But maybe they sense something different about the behaviour of dogs of each colour; who knows?

Bruce maybe the chihuahua is more puppylike in size but without some of the puppy behaviours that bother older dogs sometimes, so therefore is the perfect playmate for your ruby? It is an interesting question! Maybe it comes down to a combination of small size and this specific dog's personality. Jaspar and Leo have specific dogs they really like -- one small spitz around the corner and a jack russell down the street in particular. They see a neighbour's ruby cavalier more often on walks and I walked them all daily for a week recently while she was ill, but this didn't bond them any closer. They like to see Jack but he isn't special the way Prince and Nico are for some reason!

Well, to add to the strangeness, here's the latest. A friend brought over her B&T yesterday for us to watch while she gets married and goes on a honeymoon. That chi and B&T are the same way together; they play like crazy! But the B&T doesn't seem all that interested in the other dogs. Very strange!

Well, to add to the strangeness, here's the latest. A friend brought over her B&T yesterday for us to watch while she gets married and goes on a honeymoon. That chi and B&T are the same way together; they play like crazy! But the B&T doesn't seem all that interested in the other dogs. Very strange!

Are you teasing me, now you have me worried.
Maybe it is because they are way out numbered with all the
bleinhams and tri's.
Come on Bruce, I thought you loved ruby's